Pet Stuff in Minnetonka has a long-standing partnership with ICA Food Shelf. In fact, every month they donate pet food to help families in need keep their pets at home. This past July alone, they donated 182 pounds of pet food to the food shelf. Now despite their history of generosity, the team at Pet Stuff says they’ve been eyeing an opportunity to make their biggest contribution to date.
As it turns out, they were able to turn that into reality in August with some major help from the community.
Manager Stephen George says the planning process started weeks earlier when they were perusing the ICA website.
“We saw there is a larger need for canned food,” he explains. “That’s when we went to some of our suppliers and said, ‘Can you help us out?’”
The idea they landed on was a matching program for the entire month. Specifically, whenever a customer purchased a can of Merrick dog food, Pet Stuff pledged to match their effort and donate a can to ICA.
Team members say signage in the store, posts on social media and word of mouth helped make the drive an immediate success.
“Once we got it [going], the feedback was almost instant,” says George.
Eventually, Pet Stuff donated 1,092 dog food cans to ICA Food Shelf at the end of August. The massive donation represents their largest single contribution and an important stepping stone going forward.
“Our goal is to start planning ahead and to be able to approach some of the manufacturers,” he explains. “Try to do it on a more regular basis.”
If you’re interested in hosting a food drive, check out our “Food Drive Spotlight” for inspiration!